Human, Digimon, or...?
by Sid1
Summary: A mysterious creature enters the world of the Tamers. After a fight, Renamon learns more about the Wolf called Sanjay. (Completed!)
1. Renamon vs. ?

Human, Digimon, or...?  
Part I  
by Christian "Sid" Lang  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, although that would be cool ;)  
  
This is the first fanfic I post here, so please review and tell me what I did wrong/right.  
  


* * *

  
_This had been a bad idea from the beginning._ he thinks.  
The floor beneath him feels cold and hard.  
_But they just wouldn't listen to me. They never did._  
Something next to him moves.  
_Now they're dead. And I'm... I'm... Where am I?_  
"Hey buddy, you all right?"  
His pulse accelerates when he hears the voice.  
Human. Definately human. And close. Too close for him.  
Humans meant trouble. And he really has had enough trouble for one day...  
  
_She is doing it again._ Renamon thinks to herself.  
The Digimon is lying on her stomach, tail moving lazily.  
"What." Ruki asks flatly, having noticed the Digimon's stares.  
She looks at the Digimon.  
Both of them are in Ruki's room, with Ruki sitting in the middle of it.  
She is surrounded by playing cards, there must be hundreds of them.  
Renamon is lying in one of the few card-free areas of the room.  
"You're doing it again." the Digimon just says.  
"So what? I have to work on my Deck."  
Renamon just rolls her eyes.  
_She can beat anybody with any deck._ she thinks to herself.  
But she doesn't say anything since she is aware why Ruki is doing this.  
Or rather, why Ruki has done this every evening for the last two weeks.  
_No Digital Fields have appeared. None at all._  
She sighs.  
Ruki just nods grimly.  
"I'm getting some air." Renamon announces and disappears.  
Seconds later she reappears near the park where Guilmon normally hides.  
Since the sun has already set, the park is almost empty.  
With no real aim, the fox-like Digimon wanders through the park.  
  
He frantically looks around.  
The place seems familiar, yet alien.  
A quick look upwards tells him that he is outside, since he can see the dark sky.  
Yet the floor beneath him is made out of very flat stone.  
_Just like in the towns, but much smoother._ he briefly wonders.  
Then he examines his surroundings.  
He is standing between two walls made of stone.  
Again, the material seems smoother than any stone he knows.  
_OK, this seems to be some kind of... alley._  
And there is that human. Luckily, the man hasn't made out his true nature. Yet.  
As if having waited for it, the man starts to scream and run.  
_Kill him! Now! Before he alerts the guards!_  
But he quickly controls his instincts.  
_No. I'm not like them. Not at all._  
So he just watches the man run, shaking his head.  
Finally, he starts to look for a good escape route.  
  
"It's a freakin' werewolf! Help! I need help!"  
Renamon's eyes widen when she hears these words.  
Did somebody see her?  
No, the voice is coming closer.  
Renamon hides in a bush and takes a look at the street nearby.  
As she expected, a homeless man is running straight across the street.  
The man even manages to stop a passing car. The driver even gets out.  
Renamon relaxes again.  
_Just some drunken man on a bad trip._ she thinks and sighs.  
"It's a monster! Police! Help!"  
Renamon looks up and sees the car driver running away from an alley.  
_That man looked normal enough. But if he really looks panicky._  
Renamon actually grins when the she realizes what this means.  
She flexes her claws, anticipating a good fight.  
And silently she prays that it's not just that stupid Guilmon.  
  
The sudden appearance of the second human urged him even more.  
He quickly climbs the wall at the other end of the alley and jumps.  
His feet land on the strange flat stone again, but this time the space is larger.  
It reminds him of a backyard, but it's just as strange as the rest of this... place.  
And there's something even more alien.  
"What in the name of the DigiWorld are you?"  
He just stares at the creature which had spoken.  
It reminded him of a member of the Fox Clan, but its fur is yellow.  
And Foxes never approached his kind like that.  
  
For a second, Renamon wonders if she had made a mistake.  
She had waited for her enemy in the backyard.  
But the creature in front of her was no Digimon.  
She knew all Digimon. All of them.  
Frowning, she examines it again.  
The creature is almost 2 meters tall, has broad shoulders and... lot's of fur.  
And it really looks like a werewolf.  
While the robe-covered body looks humanoid, the head is entirely wolf.  
_Not to mention claws bigger than human hands._ Renamon silently adds.  
Slowly, the creature lifts a giant claw.  
Renamon braces for an attack, but instead the creature starts to talk.  
"Greetings. I am Sanjay of Wolf. If you-"  
Renamon sighs. This isn't going as she expected.  
_But maybe I can fix that._ she thinks and charges forward.  
The wolf doges her first attack, but the fight has just begun.  
"Oh come on! I really don't wish to-"  
Again he can't finish his sentence since he has to dodge an attack.  
_He's holding back. I he toying with me?_  
That thought alone makes Renamon even angrier.  
"So you really want it the hard way? Fine!" she shouts at the creature.  
The wolf stops in his tracks to give her a questioning look.  
That's all the time Renamon needs.  
Rising into the air, she uses her Fox Leaf Arrow Heads.  
  
Sanjay looks up at the rising Digimon, realizing his error.  
He can see a whole cloud of shards appear out of nowehere.  
Then the shards start moving.  
_Oh boy._  
Screaming, he jumps out of the way.  
While he is landing, he can see that his former position is covered with shards.  
Then he realizes that the attack hadn't missed completely:  
Some of the projectiles have cut through his right leg.  
He howls in frustration.  
But the fox-like creature isn't satisfied yet.  
And to his horror Sanjay witnesses the creature rise again.  
_Only one option remaining._ he tells himself and starts to concentrate.  
"Fox Leave Arrow-"  
Quickly his left finger draws a circle in his right palm.  
"Head!" the creature finishes her strange magic formula.  
And as the sharp projectiles fly towards him, Sanjay quickly holds out his right hand, palm facing the creature.  
  
_This should finish the fight._ Renamon thinks, allowing herself a smile.  
Her second set of Arrow Heads is already moving towards the enemy.  
But about two meters away from him, the projectiles crash against an invisible barrier.  
Through the cloud of projectiles, Renamon can make out a strange glowing red symbol in mid-air.  
"What the- How did he-" the Digimon stammers as she lands again.  
_How did he do that? That shield came out of nowhere!_  
Renamon is furious. This fight is lasting too long.  
And that creature didn't even fight back!  
Renamon quickly thanks the Heavens that Ruki isn't witnessing this.  
_Then I'll finish him with my claws!_  
  
Sanjay hates decisions like this.  
Unlike other Wolves, he didn't like to kill. He always fought hard to ignore his instincts.  
That didn't mean that he isn't able to defend himself.  
In fact, he knows more ways to stop an enemy than any of his siblings.  
_One of the advantages of being able to read._  
But he really hates fighting. And he hates it even more to use the Power this way.  
But this is becoming a fight to the death. And he doesn't want to die.  
So he sighs one last time and concentrates again on the Power.  
The yellow fox is only a meter away now.  
Its claws look sharp enough to slash his throat. But Sanjay doesn't want to test this theory.  
Instead his left index finger draws a straight line into his right palm.  
  
_Ruki will be so proud._ Renamon tells herself.  
Just as she wants to end the fight, the Digimon feels a sharp pain in her chest.  
She looks down and is surprised when she sees her fur getting red.  
There is a faint red glow coming out of her chest and Renamon traces it back to the wolf's claw.  
_A... sword? Pure Energy. Must be..._ she thinks as she slowly passes out.  
  
Back at home, Ruki Makino can feel that something has changed.  
She gulps and takes a look around.  
"Renamon?" she whispers.  
Normally that is more than enough to summen the Digimon.  
After a few seconds, she calls the name again.  
Still, Ruki is alone in her room.  
Cursing, she runs to her table, not caring about the cards under her feet.  
Her D-Arc is lying on the table and Ruki instantly grabs it and selects the Radar.  
While normally the arrow pointing to Renamon is glowing brightly, it is almost completely gone now.  
Calling her Digimon's name, Ruki runs out into the night.  
  



	2. Round 2

Human, Digimon, or...?  
Part II  
by Christian "Sid" Lang  
  
  


* * *

  
"Come on. Stand up. Please?" Sanjay asks the unmoving body in front of him.  
But the yellow furry crature doesn't answer.  
_A real Fox wouldn't be down already. But then again, this isn't a real Fox._  
He sighs.  
"Oh well. That's it, then." he tells himself, turning away from the body.  
He has made a signle step when he sighs again.  
_A typical Wolf would just go. But then again, I'm no typical Wolf._  
He turns around again and examines the body. His eyes widen when he touches it.  
"Whoa, still alive? You're tougher than I thought." he mutters.  
He just kneels next to the creature for a minute or so, thinking about the next steps.  
"Well, I could need an ally against those humans." he finally tells himself an picks the body up.  
When he stands up, the yellow body in his arms, he suddenly realizes that his leg is still weakened.  
Although it hurts a lot, he knows that it can wait some time. There is more urgent business.  
  
Ruki Makino is exhausted. Actually, she is giving the word a whole new dimension.  
But she keeps running, still looking at the D-Arc in her hand.  
The signal is moving again, but it's getting weaker by the minute.  
She wonders briefly what could have caused this.  
_A Digital Field? No, can't be. She would've called me._  
She has almost reached the park where Takato, the stupid googleboy is hiding his pet Guilmon.  
That thought makes her stop dead in her tracks.  
"What if Guilmon attacked Renamon?"  
But she quickly dismisses the thought.  
_No. Renamon would have sliced that stupid dino into handy pieces._  
She starts to jog again. Still she is worried.  
_Renamon would disappear into the DigiWorld when she gets into trouble._  
Still Ruki is getting a signal that is coming from this world.  
_So either this thing is broken or Renamon is in big trouble._ she concludes.  
By now she has reached the park, and the signal seems to come from in there.  
  
Finally Sanjay is feeling better.  
Although he is still in pain from his wounded leg, he feels at home again.  
_I hate towns. Too many humans._  
He had quickly found this last patch of forest.  
_The humans have their houses and we have the forests. Simple as that._  
Sanjay looks at the bleeding form in front of him.  
He has carried her into one of the darker areas of the forest, trying to remain hidden.  
Frowning, he removes one of the amulets he is wearing around his neck.  
He takes it into his right hand and starts to gather a portion of the Power.  
But instead of forcing it into some form his mind dictates, he just lets it flow.  
He can feel it pass his body, slowly moving towards the amulet.  
Closing his eyes, he rests his hand holding the amulet on the chest wound.  
He can feel the Power flow through the amulet.  
And Sanjay knows even without opening his eyes that his hands seem to glow.  
After what seems to be an eternity, the feeling vanishes.  
Sighing deeply, Sanjay opens his eyes again.  
Brushing the reddened fur aside, he can see that the wound is not there anymore.  
"Just rest a bit, everything is going to be fine." he whispers to the unconscious creature.  
He flinches when he hears somebody behind him.  
"Let her go! Now!" a young but strong voice shouts.  
_Humans._ he silently curses.  
  
After a long walk through the small forest, Ruki has finally found her.  
During the last minutes Renamon's signal had gotten stronger.  
Ruki took this as a sign that she was getting closer.  
Much to her shock, Renamon isn't alone. There is some guy in a cloak bending over her.  
_Some homeless guy, I bet._  
She quickly picked up a rock and called him.  
The man instantly freezes upon hearing her voice. Good.  
Ruki takes aim with the rock, preparing to throw it, should the need arise.  
When she hears a loud and sudden growl, she almost drops the rock.  
She had never heard any Digimon make a sound like that.  
Then the stranger stands up to face her. Ruki's jaw drops when the figure is towering above her.  
_That is no human._ is her first thought.  
Even through the shadows she can make out a wolf-like head.  
Then she realizes that it is the source of the constant growling.  
_That... That is a monster! But what did it do with Renamon?_  
She risks a quick glance and notices the large red patch of chest fur.  
"No! That can't be true!" she shouts.  
After long seconds, Renamon's ear twitches. Ruki sighs.  
_She's alive. Good._  
But there is still that creature in front of her.  
"Go." it whispers in a low voice.  
Ruki gulps. This isn't a normal Digimon. They were wilder and out of control.  
But what is it? She can't remember having seen this Digimon before.  
_Oh well, until now it did little more than growling._  
Just as Ruki wants to admit that she has no plan, she sees her biggest chance.  
Her biggest chance is staring at Ruki with big blue eyes and smiling.  
For the first time today, Ruki Makino smiles.  
  
_That isn't true. I can't even scare a little girl!_  
He had given it a good try, growling, using his height and so on.  
Instead this little girl smiles.  
_What is a ten year old girl doing here at night, anyway?_  
A closer look tells him that this isn't the nice little girl he expected.  
She's wearing trousers and a shirt with a broken heart on it.  
All of her clothes seem to be of a very fine quality.  
_Once this is over, I have to find out more about this strange place._  
Then he notices that the girl's smile is widening.  
Just as he wants to growl louder, the girl speaks a single word.  
"Renamon."  
_Renamon? What's that supposed to-_  
He hasn't time to finish the thought as something is kicking his wounded leg.  
Someone with huge strength.  
And even as he is dropping, he realizes who Renamon is.  
  
Even as she delivers the powerful kick, Renamon's mind switches into overdrive.  
_What's going on? Last thing I know is me getting stabbed with an energy blade._  
_And that was in a backyard. Now I'm in a forest, and I'm feeling fine._  
_By the way, what is Ruki doing here?_  
The wolf creature groans.  
_Stop daydreaming, Renamon!_ she scolds herself.  
Swiftly she reaches down to deliver the finishing blow.  
Then she realizes that she had tried that before and dodges to the right.  
This time however, there is no energy blade.  
"Stop toying with it, Renamon." Ruki comments the strange move.  
Sighing, Renamon looks down at her enemy and notices that he is giving her a smirk.  
"Oh yes, do exactly what that human tells you to do." he whispers.  
Furious about that remark, Renamon grabs the wolf's throat.  
But she doesn't try to strangle it. Yet.  
"Shut. Up." Renamon tells him, anger showing in her eyes.  
"If I had known that you're just a human's pet, I wouldn't have saved you." the wolf continues to whisper.  
"I'm not a pet. You will pay for..." she starts to shout.  
Then she realizes what the creature said.  
_That... creature actually saved me? But how? And why?_  
"Renamon." Ruki sighs.  
Things are moving too slow for Ruki. But for once, Renamon doesn't care.  
Unsure what to do, she just releases the wolf out of her grip.  
She can hear Ruki draw in her breath, but just shakes her head.  
  
Until now, Ruki Makino thought that nothing could surprise her.  
Now she has to deal with a Digimon which didn't obey her commands.  
Not only that, but Renamon also acts completely against her nature.  
At least that's Ruki's opinion.  
_This has to be some kind of hypnosis. Renamon would never act this way!_  
She quickly pulls out her D-Arc with her left hand and uses her right hand to pull a card.  
_I'll find something to break that spell! Just need a... card..._  
Then she realizes that all of her cards are still in her room.  
_Oh. Great! The most stupid mistake that anybody could make!_ she lectures herself angrily.  
Even while she is grinding her teeth because of the mistake, Renamon slowly walks past her.  
"I'll wait for you at home." the Digimon whispers and disappears.  
For some seconds, Ruki feels the need to curse as loud as possible.  
Then she realizes that she is alone with that creature Renamon had just spared.  
Cursing silently, she starts to run back home, praying that the creature wouldn't follow her.  
  
That leaves Sanjay, who is lying on the ground, panting.  
His neck hurts almost as much as his leg. Almost.  
After a quick search of the ground, he finds his amulet again.  
And gathering all of his strength, he starts to concentrate on the Power again.  
As he feels it slowly healing his leg, he smiles.  
_Interesting characters. The Fox at least._  



	3. NO PET

Human, Digimon, or...?  
Part III  
by Christian "Sid" Lang  
  
  


* * *

  
It would be an understatement to say that Ruki is angry.  
To vent her anger, she punches the wall to her right as she is walking home.  
_How dares she!_  
*PUNCH*  
_She had it right there! But then..._  
*PUNCH*  
_...then..._  
*PUNCH*  
_..._  
*PUNCH*  
_..._  
*PUNCH*  
Ruki stares at her hand and is surprised to see that it's bleeding.  
Slowly she turns around and takes a look at the wall.  
She flinches when she notices that there are three red dots marking the last three punches.  
Cursing, the Digimon Queen starts to run.  
  
After what seemed to last an eternity, Ruki arrives at home.  
Fortunately, her grandmother hasn't noticed her being away.  
Since her hand has stopped bleeding a while ago, Ruki heads straight for her room.  
_Renamon's got a lot of explaining to do..._ she thinks, trying not to clench her right hand.  
She stops in front of her door since two things have changed since her departure.  
The first thing she notices is that her D-Arc and her cards are lying in front of the door.  
All of the cards are stored neatly inside Ruki's deck-holder.  
Her Renamon card is, of course, the top card.  
_Nice try to say..._  
Then she notices the note that has been attached to her door.  
"I'm sorry." she reads out loud, frowning.  
Holding her D-Arc and her cards, Ruki opens her door.  
_Nice try, Renamon. But you've got to say more than just-_  
"What the..." she slowly mutters when she sees her room.  
While all of her cards have been stored away with so much care, the rest of the room looks like a battlefield.  
Her first thought is that somebody has robbed her place.  
But that wouldn't make any sense since her most prized belongings are her cards and the D-Arc.  
As she slowly steps into her room, she notices claw marks on the floor.  
She carefully clears the floor with her foot and examines the marks.  
"What the..." she repeats when she realizes that the claw marks are actually letters forming words.  
After clearing the rest of the floor, Ruki gasps as she can now make out the words:  
'NO PET'  
  
"Oh, Ruki." Renamon sighs.  
The Digimon has chosen a small children's playground to rest.  
By now she is sitting on top of the small slide, regretting what she had done this evening.  
"First I attack this creature alone, almost getting killed in the process."  
She stares at the moon, as if hoping that it can answer her questions.  
"Then I get the chance to finish it off and I just go away. Hooray for me."  
She notices a faint screeching sound and looks around.  
Finally she looks down and realizes that she had absent-mindedly scratched something into the slide.  
_NO PET_  
These words seem to haunt her ever since that creature had called her that way.  
Which brings Renamon to her third act of shame.  
Ruki's room.  
After arriving at her room, she had sorted Ruki's cards with an unhuman patience.  
Having taken care of the cards, she had... vented her anger.  
Groaning, Renamon puts one paw over her eyes.  
"My my... Would you look at that. A homeless pet..." somebody behind her cheerfully states.  
_Oh please, let it be Impmon. Or some drunk._ Renamon thinks, still holding her paw over her eyes.  
Finally she turns her head and-  
_Fate must be on the Pro-Ruki side today..._  
"It's you." she just answers.  
The wolf steps out of the shadows and looks up at her.  
"So this is your home?" the wolf asks, seemingly not noticing her frustration.  
"If you have come to finish your job, then please do it quickly." Renamon pleads.  
The wolf stares at her with a hard expression.  
"Listen. I never wanted to fight." he almost barks.  
Slowly, Renamon nods.  
_Right. It... No... He told me that before I... attacked._  
The wolf seems to notice Renamon's confusion and gives her a weak smile.  
"What are you?" Renamon finally asks.  
Now the wolf looks puzzled.  
"I mean... You're clearly not human. But I have never seen a Digimon like you."  
"What is a Digimon?" the wolf simply asks.  
_Definately no Digimon._ Renamon tells herself.  
  
Sanjay sighs.  
Leaning against the construction Renamon is sitting on, he starts his story.  
"My name is Sanjay and I am a member of the Clan of the Wolves.  
I guess you don't know my land. Or my world.  
I normally live in a huge forest inhabited by many Clans.  
Once we roamed the whole land but one day, Man came and settled.  
When Man started to spread over the land, we retreated into the forest.  
The humans respected the forest as our land and we even lived in peace for a while."  
The yellow fox swiftly jumps off the construction and stands next to him now.  
"To avoid more wars, the Clans decided to split the forest into small portions."  
"Wait. There have been wars among these... Clans?" Renamon asks.  
Sanjay laughs shortly.  
"Do you actually believe that all of us were trying to avoid a fight like me?  
Of course there have been wars. But we decided to stop them to stand a chance against the humans.  
Then, once day, a human mage came into the forest and built a tower in its center.  
The tower was standing on all Clan's territories since we split the forest like a pie.  
He knew it. He wanted to make us angry. Maybe that's why the humans just called him Dark One.  
Of course, all Clans sent their warriors to drive the human out of the forest."  
Renamon draws in her breath, sensing what followed.  
"Nobody ever returned. I was among one of the parties, acting as a healer.  
The Dark One was waiting for us, toying with us. Then he did some kind of flash and..."  
"And landed here?" Renamon asks with wide eyes.  
Sanjay just nods.  
  
Renamon doesn't know what to say.  
She has just been confronted with the history of another culture.  
A culture whose enemy was just known as Man.  
Worse yet, the one who told her about it wasn't even a fighter, but a healer.  
_So he came here, alone and confused, maybe searching for one of his kind..._  
_And I had nothing better to do than force him into a fight. Great. Just great._  
Still, the wolf that calls himself Sanjay is still friendly.  
"I'm sorry." she finally says, offering him her paw.  
Sanjay actually smiles and accepts it.  
"And I have to thank you." she quickly adds.  
"Oh?"  
"For healing me after... well, after what I did."  
Sanjay just shrugs.  
After a while, Renamon is also smiling.  
"So, you're that little girl's pet?" Sanjay asks, smiling innocently.  
Renamon's smile fades away instantly and is replaced by a snarl.  
Seeing that, Sanjay's smile widens even more.  
"Yep, thought so." he mutters.  
Just as she wants to give him a snappy response, she can hear a familiar voice in the distance.  
"Renamon! This is not funny!"  
Ranamon's head quickly turns around to check how close Ruki is.  
After making sure that she isn't yet in sight, she turns back to Sanjay.  
Or rather, to the place that had been occupied by Sanjay.  
Gasping in surprise, Renamon realizes that the wolf has vanished during the few moments she hadn't been looking.  
_He can't be far._ she tells herself.  
"I know you're here somewhere! And I'm furious enough already!"  
Hearing that, Renamon dismisses any thoughts of a chase with a sigh.  
  
Slowly moving towards her partner, a last thought makes Renamon smile again.  
_One day, I will tell you that I am not a pet. You're not getting away that easily._  
  
  



	4. Lady and the Wolf

Human, Digimon, or...?  
Part IV  
by Christian "Sid" Lang  
  
  


* * *

  
Sanjay is wandering through the streets of the part of the town Ruki is living in.  
He realizes that he has to find some kind of shelter.  
The forest had proven to be a bad staying place since humans seemed to be there whenever they wished to be.  
His worries and thoughts are interrupted when his nose picks up an interesting scent.  
And although none of the passing humans can see it, he is smiling under his hood.  
_Smells like my old place._ he thinks, being reminded of the various herbs and potions he kept there.  
His nose leads him to some kind of shop selling herbs and tea.  
Being curious, he slowly enters the shop.  
There is an old lady reading a book behind the counter and two other customers.  
When he enters, the lady looks at him with wide eyes.  
_Strange. My hood should hide my face. Still, she looks as if she actually had seen me._  
Thankfully, the lady relaxes again.  
"Welcome. I don't think I have seen you before." she greets him.  
"I've just arrived here yesterday." Sanjay explains.  
"Let me guess. You're not from around here, right?"  
_If I didn't know better, I'd say she has seen who and what I am._  
"You could say so." he slowly answers.  
Thankfully, Sanjay hears another customer enter.  
"Good morning, Lady Kioko!" a young boy greets the lady.  
He has blue hair and is carrying a stuffed animal in his arms.  
_No. Not stuffed. This one... smells alive..._ he corrects himself.  
But he pretends not to notice, still remembering the last first encounter with another species.  
While the young boy talks to the lady, another boy enters the shop.  
"Lee? Hey, what a coincidence!" he says as he comes in.  
It is now obvious that the boys are friends.  
One of the customers leaves the shop again, giving Sanjay some space.  
While Sanjay tries to focus on some of the herbs on the shelves, two more people come in.  
_I bet this lady knows a lot of people if the shop is always this full._  
"All right, everybody down to the floor! Now!" one of the new customer suddenly shouts.  
Behind his back, he can hear the boys gasp.  
_Now what is that about?_ he wonders as he slowly turns around.  
He can see that the two new customers have small knives in their hands.  
One of them obviously tries to impress the customers while the other one talks to the lady.  
Both of the boys and the other customer are lying on the floor.  
"I don't have much money, you thief." the woman tells them calmly.  
"Then just give us what you've got!" the young man standing next to him yells.  
The man at the counter, who is obviously in charge, stares at Sanjay.  
"Why is that one still standing?" the boss shouts.  
The man next to Sanjay gives him a surprised look.  
Sanjay just looks at the woman and the woman gives him a nod, smiling grimly.  
Sighing, he grabs the man's hand which is holding the knive and yanks it upwards.  
Even as the man is yelling in surprise, Sanjay delivers a punch into his stomach, sending the man onto the floor.  
The boss looks at him in surprise.  
Then he shifts into an improvised fighting position, keeping the knive moving.  
"I've seen bigger toothpicks." Sanjay states calmly.  
The boss just laughs.  
His laugh fades when Sanjay is suddenly in front of him, one hand at his throat.  
Again the boys gasp after having seen such a display of speed and strength.  
"Out." he simply orders the boss.  
The man even forgets that he is still holding a knive and just nods.  
Seconds later, both of them are out of the shop.  
Lady Kioko sighs and smiles at him.  
Sanjay simply continues brwosing through the shelves.  
Soon, he is alone with the woman.  
  
"Lee!" Terriermon urgently whispers once they are outside.  
But Lee is talking with Takato.  
"Boy, this man had reflexes!" Takato wonders.  
"Yeah. Strange guy." Lee says, nodding.  
"Lee! That man! He... he... it... wasn't human!" Terriermon suddenly shouts.  
Both boys freeze.  
"What are you talking about?" Lee asks his Digimon.  
"It... smelled strange..." Terriermon whispers.  
"Are you serious about this?" Takato asks, wondering if this was some kind of joke.  
"But I'm not completely sure. Maybe we should ask an expert." Terriermon advises them.  
Takato and Lee look at each other with blank expressions.  
"And who would this expert be?" Lee asks skeptically.  
"Well, Ruki's house isn't that far away." the Digimon proposes.  
Sighing, Takato and Lee start moving in Ruki's direction.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ruki is in the city, said something about dueling..." her grandmother tells them.  
"Right. She is the Digimon Queen after all." Lee says sarcastically.  
Ruki's grandmother just smiles at the remark.  
When they start to move away again, Terriermon suddenly breaks out of Lee's grip.  
"Renamon is here! I can smell her!" the little Digimon shouts out.  
"I fear I know where this is heading..." Takato mutters.  
Just as he expected, Terriermon starts to float over the walls and towards Ruki's room.  
The boys wait on the street, shaking their heads.  
  
Slowly Terriermon floats past Ruki's windows.  
"Renamon! Renamon!" he whispers.  
At the last window, he turns around.  
"Renamon! Rena-URKS" he gasps as he is suddenly pulled inside by a yellow paw.  
"Are you out of your mind!" the fox Digimon hisses, holding Terriermon in her grip.  
Funny enough, she didn't say these words in a questioning tone.  
"I'm sorry, Renamon." Terriermon just whispers.  
The fox sighs and lets go of the smaller Digimon.  
"It's just, we need your nose."  
"Should I screw it off for you?" Renamon asks sarcastically.  
There is a long pause as Terriermon actually seems to consider this.  
"What do you need me for?" Renamon finally asks.  
"Well, we saw that hooded guy in Lady Kioko's shop. A huge man. But it wasn't a-"  
Terriermon's explanation is cut off by Renamon's paw.  
"What did he look like?" she queries.  
"Well, we didn't see much. Long robe, face hidden under a hood, fights like one of those guys from TV."  
When Renamon doesn't answer, the smaller Digimon continues.  
"He is really really quick, and he didn't smell like a human... So I wanted to-"  
Again, Terriermon stops talking.  
But this time he stops because Renamon is already gone.  
  
"You've got some nice herbs here." Sanjay comments to cover the silence in the shop.  
"Uh-hm."  
"Really nice."  
"Uh-hm."  
There is a long pause.  
"You know what I am." he suddenly states, facing her.  
The woman smiles.  
"I know that you're not human. I can pick up... I guess oyu would call it an aura." she starts.  
"Yours is definately not human. But it's also unlike the one of Lee's small friend."  
"I guessed that that this hasn't been a stuffed animal." Sanjay comments.  
"So, what brings you here?" the woman asks.  
_Interesting. She doesn't even ask who or what I am._  
"Where I come from, I am a healer. Herbs are my specialty."  
_Next to magical healings._ he adds silently.  
"Interesting. You knwo, I could use somebody like you." the woman suddenly offers.  
"Pardon me?"  
"I'm getting too old to collect herbs myself. And you did a good job protecting me and the shop."  
"Well, I'm not too excited by the idea of working for a human." Sanjay carefully tells her.  
_Unless..._  
"Is there really nothing I could bait you with?" the woman asks.  
"Uh... well, I could use a place to live..."  
"Excellent!" the woman yells, startling him.  
"Just pick your room! I only use two rooms in this house!" she continues shouting.  
After a quick tour through the house, Sanjay finally picks the cellar.  
It reminds him of a cave and is large enough for his needs.  
Lady Kioko wasn't pleased by his idea of having a fireplace, but she did grant him an electrical heater.  
"So I help you out in the shop and you let me live here?" Sanjay finally asks.  
The woman just shrugs.  
"It's nice to have company." she just tells him.  
Being deeply moved by her kindness, he decides to risk it.  
Slowly he removes his hood.  
The woman's smile widens when she sees his face.  
"Better than any guard dog." she comments, grinning.  
  
She suddenly stops grinning.  
Slowly, she turns around as if looking for something in the cellar.  
"Who is there?" she asks loudly.  
Just when Sanjay wants to question her mental health, Renamon appears out of nowhere.  
"You knew where I was. I'm impressed." she mutters.  
Shrugging and smiling, the woman just climbs the ladder leading into the shop.  
"How'd you find me?" Sanjay asks when Kioko is upstairs.  
"Terriermon talked."  
"The blue haired boy's pet?"  
"I'd relly prefer if you didn't call Digimon pets."  
"I just say what I see." Sanjay tells her, grinning.  
"And I know where you live." Renamon answers, fuming.  
"So do I." Sanjay assures her.  
"You're bluffing." Renamon says, trying to laugh.  
"How do you think did I find you yesterday?"  
Narrowing her eyes, Renamon disappears again.  
But she didn't vanish quickly enough so Sanjay noticed a faint smile on her lips.  
He laughs, starting to inspect his new place.  
_Yep, a bunch of interesting characters indeed._  
  
When Ruki returns from her trip to the yity, Renamon is already back.  
She had thought about what Renamon told her last night.  
"Renamon." she catches the Digimon's attention.  
Renamon just looks at her lazily.  
"We have to find this Sanjay. Who knows what troubles he gets into." she announces.  
Renamon just shakes her head.  
"What do you mean by that?" Ruki asks angrily.  
"He's doing fine."  
"Oh. And how can you be so sure about that?"  
"He's living at Lady Kioko's shop, helping her out."  
Seeing Ruki's jaw drop, Renamon decides that she actually likes this crazy wolf.  
  
  
The End.  
But watch out for other stories featuring Renamon and Sanjay!  



End file.
